In a third-floor loft one block east of Fort Greene Park, Alex Crane runs a clothing shop – aptly named “Alex Crane.”
The space is expansive, a white-washed corridor with windows on either side, casting light in rectangles on the wooden floor. Near the back of the room, two racks display a collection of linen clothing – testaments to a brand Crane started just over two years ago.
It was while working as a bag designer at Jake Spade that Crane began to consider creating a personal brand. He wanted to make clothes in a different way, for a different purpose. Clothes that simultaneously encouraged lightheartedness and ambition. Clothes, he says, for “anyone who wants to be just a little more playful in their life.”
The natural expression of this desire was linen, a material Crane found underutilized. “It has this natural character,” he said. “It feels breezy. It feels like the ocean. And yet, it also has this real professional elegance.”
And after two years, Crane can wear a full outfit of his linen designs, and he often does.
“[Linen] has a natural character. It feels breezy. It feels like the ocean. And yet, it also has this real professional elegance.”
The move to the loft on Carlton Avenue is recent, and the space doubles as Crane’s home. There’s a kitchen next to the clothing rack with a refrigerator of his food. In the bathroom, there’s a toothbrush, a reminder that when the shop closes, he stays. This fact gives the space a feeling of neighborly love – that he is inviting you into his home (because that is what he is doing).
It’s the “physical touchpoint to an otherwise online company,” says Sam Arnow, Crane’s college friend and business partner. It is a place where they can meet the people who want their products and build connections.
“[Here, we are] able to encapsulate the ‘bring sugar to your neighbor’ and open up our door,” says Arnow, “That you can knock on it, and we’ll be able to give you WIFI, bathroom, water, lunch, whatever. I think that contributes to the health of a brand and the health of our vision.”
The offer is authentic. Crane reemphasizes, “We want people to come. We’d like to meet you."
If you’d like to meet Alex Crane and check out the loft and linen, just send an email, or if you’re in the area, stop by their tent at the Fort Greene Farmers’ Market any Saturday this summer.
By Joseph Held, Blog + Content Curator
Photography by Adil Rahmen